Property briefs

New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party says it will tighten restrictions on overseas purchases of the country’s assets if it is elected to government next year. The “overwhelming majority" of applications would be rejected unless potential buyers could prove the purchase would create jobs, bring new technology to the country or increase exports, leader
Phil Goff
said at a party conference yesterday. “No overseas person has the right to buy our land . . . Today you have my commitment that Labour will turn the rules on selling land to foreigners on their head." New Zealand this year altered rules to require foreign buyers of large tracts of farmland to show how an acquisition would benefit the nation’s economy. The decision came after a backlash against overseas purchasers targeting farmland. Bloomberg

Bernard Madoff
’s Palm Beach, Florida, home has sold for $US5.65 million, a third less than its original asking price, according to the US Marshals Service.

The five-bedroom property was bought in 1994 for $US3.8 million and listed for sale in September 2009 for $US8.49 million. By August of this year, the price had been reduced to $US6.5 million, according to real estate website Zillow.com. The house is the last of three Madoff homes that the US government sold to pay restitution to victims of his Ponzi scheme. An auction of personal property, including jewellery and art is to be held on November 13.Bloomberg

The number of used home sales in some of Hong Kong’s biggest private housing estates jumped 90 per cent this weekend, underscoring optimism that government measures may have only limited impact on home prices.

Centaline Property Agency, the city’s biggest privately held real estate broker, recorded 116 deals in key projects over the weekend, up almost double on the previous weekend. The government would stop offering residency to foreigners who bought properties in the city and would begin a rent-to-buy program for first-time buyers, chief executive
Donald Tsang
said in his annual policy address last week. Bloomberg